The Vampire Diaries: Haunted

In this week’s episode we get the aftermath of Vicki’s new life as a vampire. Damon and Stefan give her obviously very contradicting views of how she should act. Stefan gives her animal blood and encourages her to stay in the house, away from people, especially crowds. Damon on the other hand, encourages her to drink human blood, an idea that Vicki is thrilled with. After being cooped up all day, Damon takes her out of the house and they end up back at Vicki’s house. Matt can tell there’s something seriously wrong with her, but he assumes it’s drugs. Elena begs Vicki to stay away from Jeremy since she can’t be trusted to control her urges. Vicki uses her new found powers to shut Elena up and show her whose boss. Vicki meets up with Jeremy at their school’s Halloween party, where there is a crowd of open veins calling to her. Elena and Stefan try to get her out of there before anyone is hurt, but with a hungry, restless newborn vampire on the loose that’s easier said than done.

This is a pretty minor thing and I’m sure I have noticed it before, but Paul Wesley as Stefan really only has one look; the crinkled eyebrow scold. It kind of makes it look like he’s always either angered or confused, sometimes even both. Once you really notice this it is hard to ignore and it becomes laughable. It shows a lack of range of emotion and makes it slightly harder to feel for his character. Wesley’s portrayal of Stefan has grown on me in showing some versatility lately and I do want to credit him with showing a bit more of a personality. Kayla Ewell did really well in Vicki’s transition from the rebellious, loner to the restless and wild vampire with an undying addiction for blood.

Ian Somerhalder isn’t doing anything particularly different, but he always keeps Damon fresh which I am so thankful for. He really brings this thrilling and exhilarating character to life in the best way possible. Every smirk; evil or cocky (which is a quality I rarely admire) encompasses everything that Damon Salvatore is perfectly without him needing to say a word. I loved how he said he turned Vicki in to a vampire, changing her life forever, because he was “bored.” He is what he is and he refuses to be ashamed of it, instead he promises to embrace it for eternity. All of his mocking remarks towards Stefan’s view of morality make him more likeable and ironically more sympathetic while still keeping intact his dangerous and supreme status. You can tell he has fun with his character and it is completely contagious.

Vicki makes an awesome vampire. The power vs. morality play that Damon and Stefan have going, trying to convert Vicki over to what they both think is the right side is pretty interesting, especially when Damon mocks Stefan’s lifestyle. I was starting to like Vicki’s character more as she has been given a bit more depth in the last few episodes, but Vicki the vampire is a million times more fun than her human counterpart. Her eagerness for blood, power, and action is almost childlike in her reactions to it. Despite this, there is vitality and overwhelming need coming out of her that shows something far darker. The writers went a different direction with Vicki’s character than L.J. Smith had in the books. This worked out for the best since it gave us a fun-filled story line we wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. I can’t help but question where they are going to go from here though, especially since a lot of the bigger horrors to come included Vicki and that doesn’t seem possible to happen in the same way now. Another interesting storyline we get is Damon’s role in spying on the vampire hunters of the town, those that know of their existence and have seen it before.

There is some great irony in the costuming choices at the Halloween party. Bonnie (by Caroline’s choice) is dressed as a witch and Vicki is dressed as the world’s most convincing vampire, even going so far as to use her fangs on Jeremy. Two episodes ago, Bonnie came over some great revelations in realizing the power she possessed and went to her grandmother for help in controlling them. Now we find out that her grandmother is a practiced witch, claiming that this power has been in their family for centuries. Bonnie is even able to unintentionally use powers against Damon, which hints that perhaps he had a direct connection to a descendent of hers years ago. Bonnie’s power is coming in to play more and more. I’m really curious to see the forces they will face in the future and how they will fight against them.

The Vampire Diaries had got its tone, material, characters, and identity down. It exerts this great energy episode after episode and consumes the viewer in to this seemingly ordinary small town where the supernaturals lurks in the shadows as well as right out in the open, unsuspected. The characters and actors that portray them have been developed and have extraordinary dynamics with one other, creating that chemistry and vigor. There’s genuine surprises that you can clearly see shaping this entire world that has been created. There are still changes being made to the original material. These changes are actually working wonders. It gives us more suspense, thrill, and attachment.